DPA 555 - Ancient African Civilizations

The archaeology of Africa’s later prehistoric and historic periods offers exciting contributions to global debates on the origins of agriculture and civilization. Covering the last 30,000 years, this course begins by examining the economic underpinnings of Africa’s early complex societies: intensive hunting & gathering, animal domestication, and early farming. Detailed case studies of five ancient civilizations (Egypt, Aksum, Jenne, Swahili, and Great Zimbabwe), and then explore distinct processes of prehistoric social change in different parts of Africa. The course concludes by discussing African archaeological heritage conservation, education and synthesis. Beyond these main themes, we develop additional units and discussions on topics of special interest to the students enrolled.

4 credits

Grading Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)